First Amendment Takes A Back Seat

For those that may not know exactly what the wording of the First Amendment to the US Constitution is:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances."

What part of “prohibiting the free exercise thereof, or abridging the freedom of speech” do people not understand?

Too many people do not realize the negative consequences that would come from curtailing free speech. Today some might think that certain speech is offensive and want it outlawed and the people in power might agree with them and do so. What happens when a new crop of leaders come into power and they succumb to the wishes of their base and believe that some other type of speech is offensive and then outlawed that speech?

I am amazed to hear that more and more young people specifically, do not believe in the First Amendment. The Daily Caller is reporting on a new poll commissioned by the Huffington Post that has results which finds that a majority of Americans would back efforts to control what they consider hate speech on college campuses even if it meant limiting free speech.

That is appalling to me and made me wonder what all those soldier’s who died for this country and constitution would think.

In the poll taken by YouGov last month the results were as follows:

53% agreed that colleges should punish students who “make racially offensive statements” with only 28% opposed to it.

71% of self-identified Democrats agreed with the above statement, which did not surprise me but what did was the reported 40% of self-identified Republicans who also agreed.

If it is true that 40% of Republicans polled agreed to limit free speech if deemed offensive, our country is in a bigger mess than I thought. I tend to not believe the 40% number and think that this poll could be agenda driven.

The poll also reported that 43% believed that “creating an environment free of discrimination should be a higher priority than preserving an absolute right to free speech, while 38 percent took the opposite view”.

Where is this country going?

Do you really want to live in a country where you must always be concerned about what you are saying because someone might think it is offensive and report you to the state?

Let’s discuss this tomorrow (Friday) on my program, The Live with Renk show, which airs Monday through Friday 9 a.m. to noon, to let me know your thoughts at (269) 441-9595.

Or please feel free to start a discussion and write your thoughts in the comment section.